Obituary: Floyd FryerFloyd Fryer ATKINS — Floyd Fryer, 85, of Atkins went to be with the Lord on July 13, 2015, at the Arkansas Hospice River Valley Home in Russellville. He was born Dec. 29, 1929, in Atkins, son of the late E.P. “Pat” and Linnie Ophelia Porter Fryer. He was a member of the Atkins Lions Club, United Methodist Mens, American Legion, Atkins Methodist Church and was a United States Navy veteran. He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters, Ola M...

Obituary: Diana PoulsonDiana Poulson ATKINS — Diana L. Poulson, 76, of Russellville, passed away Sunday, July 12, 2015, at Arkansas Hospice River Valley Home in Russellville. She was born July 9, 1939, the daughter of Homer and Evelyn Leavell Parham. She was preceded in death by her parents; son, William Poulson. She is survived by her husband, Robert Poulson of Russellville; son, Bobby Ashmore; two daughters-in-law, Diana L. Poulson and Katherine Navarr; brother, J...

Obituary: Patricia FullerPatricia Fuller Patricia C. Fuller, 85, of Russellville passed away Tuesday, July 14, 2015, at the Arkansas Hospice River Valley Home in Russellville. The daughter of Richard and Pearl Coe, she was born May 18, 1930, in Oak Forrest. She was a United States Air Force veteran of the Korean War and held the rank of Corporal. She received her training as a Licensed Practical Nurse in the military and later worked as a school nurse. She married the...

Atkins City Council gets heated over actionBY SEAN INGRAM sean@couriernews.com ATKINS — Aldermen “Bro” Price, Raymond Pearce and JoAnn Spence got loud and heated when action on unsightly and unsanitary properties was brought up again during Tuesday’s regular Atkins City Council meeting. After City Attorney William S. Swain read the city’s ordinance on unsightly and unsanitary properties that dated back to 1926, council members agreed it needed to be updated. The 1926 ordinance stated o...

Two Rivers millage failsAn increase of two mills that would have raised funds for new classrooms and offices at the elementary school, as well as paid for relocating football, softball and baseball facilities to the Two Rivers School District campus, was voted down by district residents 737-400 on Tuesday. “This is something our students deserve and need,” superintendent Jim Loyd said. “They deserve to have the same things other districts have. The Board and I will n...

May housing statisticsThe number of residential homes sold, as well as the values and average prices of those homes in Pope County, saw higher increases from May 2014 to May 2015 than statewide percentage changes, according to the Arkansas Realtors Association’s monthly statistics. In Pope County, 76 homes were sold in May 2014 and 88 homes were sold in May 2015, a 15.79-percent increase and more than the 10.77-percent increase in the amount of homes sold statewide...

Floods cause millions of dollars in damagesAssociated Press TEXARKANA — Recent floods caused more than $14 million in damages in a southwest Arkansas county, according to a report by county officials and the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Around half of the land in Little River County was flooded by nearby bodies of water, including the Red River, following severe weather in May and June, said the county’s emergency coordinator, Don Hale Jr. The report shows that...

Firm seeks more info, stalls funds for stateAssociated Press LITTLE ROCK — A telecommunications company wants more information before it submits paperwork that officials say has put a hold on more than $15 million in federal funding for Arkansas schools. CenturyLink officials question whether the state’s procurement process for school broadband upgrades complied with federal rules. Jeff Jones, CenturyLink’s market development manager, said it seeks additional information from the Federa...

Teen in good spirits after surviving plane crashAssociated Press SEATTLE — With her step-grandparents dead or dying in the burning wreckage of their small plane, 16-year-old Autumn Veatch needed to somehow find her way off the remote, thickly forested Washington state mountainside where they crashed Saturday afternoon. Bruised by the impact, singed by the fire, fearing an explosion and knowing she couldn’t help the other victims, the girl did what she could: She headed down the steep slope,...

Pluto flyby apparently successfulAssociated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — In a day of both jubilation and tension, scientists anxiously waited Tuesday for NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft to send word across 3 billion miles and confirm it got humanity’s first up-close look at Pluto. All indications were that the craft successfully made its flyby, and a cheering, flag-waving celebration swept over the mission operations center in Maryland. But confirmation was not expected to rea...

Obituary: Billie Jo YorkBillie Jo York CLARKSVILLE — Billie Jo York, 74, of Dardanelle, formerly of Clarksville, was born Feb. 7, 1941, in Clarksville and died on Saturday, July 11, 2015, in Little Rock at the age of 74. She is preceded in death by her parents, Bill and Billie Jo York Cook. She is survived by two sons, Eric Dwayne Cook and Tony Merrell York, both of Bentonville; and a sister, Myrtle Gertrude Walker of Dallas, Texas. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m., ...

Obituary: Gary ReeceGary Reece CLARKSVILLE — Gary Smith Reece, 72, was born March 6, 1943, in Elihu, Ken., and died on Monday, July 13, 2015, in Clarksville. Gary is preceded in death by his parents, J.S. and Ercil Reece; one son, David Dewayne Reece; two brothers, Lyndon Ray Reece and Donald Keith Reece. He is survived by one son, Lyndon Smith Reece (Angeles); one daughter, Katharine Lucille Reece Willis; and his wife, Deborah Wolfson Reece, all of Clarksville. ...

Arkansas lawmakers criticize Iran nuclear dealAssociated Press LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’ all-Republican congressional delegation roundly criticized a nuclear deal announced Tuesday between Iran and world powers, with freshman U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton calling it a “grievous, dangerous mistake.” Cotton, an Army veteran who authored an open letter to Iran in March signed by 46 other senators about the nuclear negotiations, vowed to fight the agreement that would curb Iran’s nuclear program in exch...

Benton County search for man on the run ends in MissouriAssociated Press BENTONVILLE — A four-day search for a 39-year-old man on the run from law enforcement in Benton County has ended in Missouri. Officers had pursued the suspect since Friday evening, when authorities say deputies attempted to serve him a warrant for failure to pay child support and a parole violation. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the suspect fled from an apartment complex and led police on a chase across a golf course b...

Community photo: Best mannered teacherKay Dickey was surprised with receiving the honor of the National League of Junior Cotillions’ “Best Mannered Teacher Award” at the school’s awards assembly before the summer break. Presenting the award to her was Lilly Ruston, a cotillion student who wrote the winning essay. The challenge of the essay was to nominate a teacher who exemplifies a person who uses manners and treats others with honor, dignity and respect. Dickey is a Literacy and...

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THE COURIER / SubmittedThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Officials pour out for Weir Road studyA study conducted by Garver Engineers three years ago was analyzed and broken down during a discussion of Weir Road water and sewer improvements Tuesday at City Corp. headquarters. City Corp. General Manager Steve Mallett, along with Aaron Stallmann and Gary Bennett of Garver, gave a refresher course on the October 2012 study. They explained properties along Weir Road were broken up in phases based on when they would be developed. Options that...

Septic truck driver killed in crash in JacksonvilleAssociated Press JACKSONVILLE — Authorities say a Redfield man was killed when the septic truck he was driving crashed in Jacksonville. Arkansas State Police say 49-year-old Dennis Brasher died as a result of the crash on Monday. A Lonoke man who was riding in the truck was injured and is hospitalized in undisclosed condition. Pulaski County deputies who responded to the crash say Brasher died after being removed from the vehicle. A state poli...

Cyclone sculpture almost completeThe finishing touches are being added to a 16-foot-tall, 10-foot-wide Cyclone sculpture that will soon tower in front of Russellville High School’s Center for the Arts. Visitors to the 130,000-square-foot Center will now be greeted by a more than one-ton steel structure fashioned after the school’s mascot. The concrete footing has already been laid, and Public Works Director and City Engineer Kurt Jones said the target date to erect the sculpt...